A Second Chance at Destiny
by CodyNaomiSwire
Summary: A HTTYD/Skyrim one-shot, exploring what it may have been like if Alduin did indeed return to the mortal plane of existence, but is reborn into circumstances that…well, cause the story to go into a very different direction than from before.


_The Black Dragon._

 _The World-Eater._

 _Dovahzul._

 ** _Alduin._**

 _Some even called him Akatosh – the great Dragon of Time himself._

 _He might as well have been, he thought. As the Eldest of the dragons, as the most powerful, he might as well hold such a lofty name – the name of his father. Being immortal was only the tip of the iceberg really. Being able to transcend the very fabric of time and space itself, as well as use the power of the Voice…well, it was no wonder those foolish humans once worshipped him as a god._

 _Not that he really cared whether they did or not. In fact, he could care less. Those of his cult had served his purposes, but nothing more. He felt no fondness at all for the little mortal vermin. They had their usefulness sometimes, but even then Alduin had little patience for them. Even those who groveled in his presence were little more than disgusting to him. Taking over their mortal plane had been easy enough. Not even the mightiest of the Nords' mages, priests, or warriors could withstand his Thu'um. His Shout. His Voice._

 _…That is until they found their own Voice._

 _Paarthurnax – that disgusting traitor! How **dare** he teach these creatures of earth and slime how to use the sacred dragons' speech! And not only that, but those filthy Nords had also created their own filthy words that no dragon should ever have to hear. Far worse than any of the curse of men, that Shout… **Dragonrend** …was the worst instrument of torture a dragon could be subjected to._

 _To suddenly experience it…to suddenly **understand** mortality…_

 _It didn't matter how briefly the effects of the Shout lasted. Once a dragon heard that Shout, he would NEVER be the same again._

 _Alduin would surely have his vengeance for what they did to him!_

 _But it didn't stop there of course, oh no. As if torturing him hadn't been enough, those troublesome humans thrust him through the very fabrics of reality, which he had been so used to being able to manipulate before. Using one of those cursed Scrolls, they had sent him thousands of years forward in time, robbing him of yet another chance to fulfill his destiny as the World-Eater._

 _But not this time! No, this time he would not lose this second chance!_

 _However, he had to admit – he was rather impressed that this Dovahkiin he now faced, though extremely infuriating to be sure, was able to also transcend time and space to finally confront him here on the plains of Sovngarde, on the threshold of the Hall of Valor, while still in his alive yet mortal body. Alduin found it deplorable that such a creature would carry the soul of a dragon in its heart, but he would soon see to the destruction of such an abomination. The very sight of this Nordic warrior – his green eyes glaring at him with courage and determination – was enough to make his scales bristle with rage._

 _Their destinies were intertwined now. And as he swooped down towards the Dovahkiin and his comrades, the fire building in his Voice, Alduin was determined that he would finally fulfill his!_

* * *

The black dragon jerked awake, as the dark tendrils of his dream retreated away from his senses. Toothless, breathing heavily, took in his surroundings, and to his relief found that he wasn't actually on a scorched and chaotic battlefield, but was instead in the cozy loft of the chief's house. Shaking his head to further wake himself, Toothless carefully stood up on his quivering legs.

It may have been just a dream, but then…it had felt so real, too. Kind of like how it felt whenever he recalled a vivid memory. But of course this couldn't have been one of his memories. He had never been to any place like what he had just seen – what with the otherworldly plains and grand mead hall and everything. And of course he and Hiccup had never fought like that before. Sure, they first encountered each other on the field of battle during one of the dragons' raids, when Hiccup had shot Toothless out of the sky, but they had never fought in an all-out battle before. And why would they!? Aside from when Hiccup had been trying to defend his village that night, he had never once tried to hurt Toothless since then, and Toothless never had either.

Well, that is not except when…well, when Toothless…

Toothless growled to himself, grief and guilt threatening to break through once again. He didn't remember much about what had happened in those few moments those several months ago, but he sure did remember the look of grief and hurt and betrayal on Hiccup's face. After meeting Hiccup, Toothless would cringe at the idea that he should ever hurt (or kill) a human being, especially when they could be such amazing creatures; possessing such a great capacity for creativity and caring for others. Granted they could also be quite cruel and ruthless, but so could dragons, and it seemed that most humans at least were of the greater kind. Hiccup had been a prime example of this, and Toothless's loyalty to him and to his father and friends had only grown since being adopted into their tribe.

But then…he'd done the unthinkable…

Toothless would always be immensely grateful to Hiccup for granting him a second chance even then, and for coming for him in his time of need, but sometimes the guilt still opened up the old wounds of that day. Suddenly needing the comfort, Toothless plodded over to Hiccup's bedside as silently as he could, taking care not to wake the sleeping Viking. Hiccup was snoozing peacefully, only every once in a while muttering some nonsense words under his breath as he dreamt. Toothless quietly snorted in amusement. Humans sure could talk a lot, even in their sleep. While Toothless still didn't know all of the humans' vocabulary, he could understand the vast majority of it now – dragons are quite clever after all, Night Furies especially! – and while he had no voice of his own, he did find ways to communicate with them. Honestly, some of the "conversations" he enjoyed the most were the ones with no talking at all.

Feeling the Night Fury's hot breath on his face, Hiccup winced and groggily opened his eyes. Toothless started back, a coo of apology escaping his throat as Hiccup peered back at him in the dark.

"Mmph…He bud," Hiccup whispered as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Toothless gave a low warbling noise in response. _'Yeah.'_

"Oh…are you, are you having bad dreams again?" Hiccup inquired, propping himself up on one elbow, his eyes showing concern.

Toothless made a sorrowful purring noise, his eyes downcast.

"Was it…Well, was it about…?" Hiccup's voice trailed at the end.

Toothless winced and shook his head.

"Oh…" Hiccup murmured, a bit puzzled by Toothless's response, but still knowing exactly what to do.

"Hey, c'mere bud," he said gently, as he climbed out of his bed, nestling himself against Toothless's side as he curled up on the floor around him in a half-moon shape. "It's ok, it's ok…"

As Toothless set his head down on the cool wood floor, Hiccup began scratching and stroking comforting circles atop his head and along his jaw. Hiccup felt Toothless give a deep and contented purr as he wrapped himself closer around him, the fire in his belly providing more than enough heat against the cold of that evening. After a few minutes, Hiccup began to get drowsy again, and as the chief of Berk drifted back to sleep, Toothless draped a protective wing over the both of them as he prepared to follow suit.

It was at times like this that it would suddenly strike Toothless how wonderfully absurd his life had become. Years ago, the very thought of having a friend amongst humans would have provoked a hollow dragonese chuckle from him. But now, as Toothless began to settle back into the dark yet comforting embrace of the night, he took great delight in the sleepy but sure embrace of his best friend that accompanied it.

 _"You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon…"_

Valka had said this phrase more than once to Hiccup, as a kind of encouragement to him as he suddenly found himself in the position of chief of Berk. But while Valka may have meant it somewhat metaphorically, to Toothless it was a hardcoded fact – Hiccup was truly the embodiment of both Viking and dragon, of a chief and an Alpha. And Toothless was grateful and proud every single day to have Hiccup – his kindred spirit – always by his side.

Toothless knew their adventures couldn't last forever, but he wasn't afraid of that. As long as he drew breath, Toothless was sure as Valhalla that he was going to make the most of what time he had! Their destinies were intertwined now, and whatever part Toothless was to play in that, he was determined to play it to his absolute best until the end!

With a deep and relieved sigh, Toothless once again returned to the realm of his dreams, with Hiccup snoring softly at his side.

 **Quick author's note: In this AU, Toothless is supposed to be Alduin reborn, but because of his crimes in his previous life his punishment was to be stripped of his immortality and the power of the Voice, and another result was that he has little to no recollection of who he used to be. Hiccup is also a kind of reincarnation of the Dovahkiin that Alduin fought in Skyrim, and once again their destinies are intertwined, but of course in a very different way. I realize the idea has some gaping holes - like how the world of Berk isn't Tamriel, and while he does earn the status of Alpha, Toothless is hardly likely to be the kind of dragon that would swallow the world at the end of time - but whatevs. This was mostly just to explore the interesting parallels that I found, while also bringing out how similar yet different Toothless and Alduin were in how they functioned in their respective stories. Anysways, hope you enjoyed this one-shot!**


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